A current trend in industry is to improve the environment of the worker to ensure that health hazzards are minimized. In woodworking facilities, this consists of collecting wood particles and dust by a vacuum means in the vicinity of their origin and depositing them in a collection bin. For instance, one early attempt to minimize dust particles in the environment of a radial arm saw consists of modifying the safety cover for the saw blade so it will function as a vacuum collector and incorporating a vacuum collector in the saw table so that sawdust generated on the top of the work piece as well as the bottom of the work piece will be drawn directly into a vacuum transport conduit. The vacuum transport conduit in the prior art devices transports the sawdust and wood chip particles to a collection bin located in close proximity to the saw. The collection bins range in sophistication from a simple filter box to cyclone separators. But in all cases, regardless of the sophistication, a separate storage bin is provided for each woodworking tool. This necessitates a cleanup crew to periodically empty the collectors and results in equipment down time while the dust collectors are being serviced.
In addition to providing vacuum sawdust collectors for radial arm saws, the prior art teaches similar approaches for collecting wood dust from routers, sanders, grinders and all forms of woodcutting tools but in all instances, individual dust collection means, whether it be a filter bag or a cyclone separator, is provided for each tool in the immediate vicinity of the tool. In as much as the sawdust collection means are not 100% efficient, a percentage of the very fine dust particles generated by the woodworking tool escapes the collection bin and pollutes the working environment.
The prior art teaches the benefits of cyclone separators and the concept of incorporating a plurality of separators in a common pneumatic conveyor to connect it so that all of the materials collected from the conveying gas are transported to a common reservoir. However, the prior art fails to apply these principles to an industrial woodworking facility wherein the sawdust is transported via the pneumatic conveyors to a common collection bin remote from the work area.